


SingleParentMatch.com

by literaryoblivion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Background Relationships, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Online Dating, Single Parent Derek, Uncle Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 19:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13508022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: After trying so many dating apps, Stiles decides to try one last one that's strictly for single parents.Problem is... he has no kids.Good thing his best friend Scott has one...





	SingleParentMatch.com

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by real life events in which an ad for a single parent dating app popped up on my FB feed and I thought, maybe I could just pretend to be a single parent? I, however, stopped at that thought, unlike Stiles...

Stiles has tried _everything_ , and he is about ready to give up. He’s tried Tinder and Bumble and OkCupid; he’s even paid for a subscription to Match and eHarmony. Hell, he even tried a Mormon one he heard about in the hopes that the girls would be different (most of them wouldn’t give him the time of day after they found he wasn’t interested in being Mormon himself). He’s met men and women at bars and clubs, speed dating events, singles cruises and events, he even attempted to pick someone up at a grocery store, which led to him never going to that store ever again.

He’s run out of options and he’s about ready to embrace the singledom that will be the rest of his life.

The problem with all those dating apps and subscriptions and places is that most of those people are looking for a quick hook-up or a casual 3-week fling. Which… maybe at one point in Stiles’s life he would’ve been okay with, but he’s 30, a full-grown adult with a job and a mortgage. Honestly, he just wants someone to come home to and to snuggle with while he complains about the idiots he works with.

He came close with one girl, but she got a job opportunity she couldn’t pass up and as much as Stiles thought he might have loved her, it wasn’t enough to drop everything and move to Iceland for her… (freakin’ Iceland? Nope.)

So… he’s kind of done. And just as he’s about to declare himself Scott and Allison’s permanent Friday night babysitter, he sees an ad on Facebook that… intrigues him.

It’s for a dating app (which go figure, stupid Facebook creeping algorithm), but it’s for single parents.

And well… single parents surely would want something a little more long-term and stable than just a one-night stand right? Sure there’s probably some that want that, but with an app for other single parents, they must want to meet someone that understands their lot in life, someone that knows how to be a parent and wouldn’t mind some help and a few other kids lumped in?

This… this actually sounds brilliant.

Except for one thing.

Stiles is not a single parent.

But… like that shouldn’t be a problem right? Like he’s willingly looking for single parents to date, so he’s clearly okay with it and kids for that matter.

Yeah… no he needs a kid…

Good thing he has easy access to his honorary niece who he’s basically another father-figure for what with all the babysitting he does.

He’s even got plenty of pictures with just him and her because she’s so dang adorable. Filling out a profile would be easy peasy. And then if he did match with someone, he’d just fess up immediately that he’s not her father but he’s clearly great with kids so he’s okay to still fall in love with.

PERFECT. This is going to be great. 

~ 

“This is a disaster.”

“Wait, tell me this whole story again and explain why you need to ‘borrow’ my kid?” Scott asks with a truly adorable confused scrunchie face. It’s one his daughter mimics perfectly, which is kind of disturbing sometimes.

“I joined this dating app for single parents, and I sort of lied and said that Grace was my daughter, and… God, Scott, this guy is so amazingly hot and nice and his daughter is so cute,” Stiles sighs, eyes going dreamy just thinking about Derek aka “singledadhale.” 

“We’ve been talking and he set up a playdate with our kids--” 

“My kid,” Scott interjects, to which Stiles just waves off and continues.

“At the park, and so I need to borrow Grace for the afternoon for our date.”

Scott sighs. “You know you’re basically using my kid to get laid.”

“No! No, I’m not. I mean… not just that, but for a romantic partner that hopefully turns into a boyfriend and if I’m lucky husband. Just, Scott, pleeeeeease. It’s like I’m babysitting anyway?!”

“Yeah, but… I’m helping you lie to this dude? Also, you know Gracey can talk. She calls you Uncle Sty? Don’t you think this Derek will catch on you’re not actually her father?” 

“Yes, I know. I will tell him, okay. I will. But I can’t show up without a kid especially after I told him I’m excited for our kids to meet!”

“My kid.” 

“God, stop being so possessive!” 

“This isn’t going to end well, you know that right. I mean, you can take Gracey, sure, but how do you think this guy is going to feel knowing you lied to him this whole time?” 

Wow. Scott really isn’t pulling any punches. 

“I… I don’t know. I was kind of hoping he’d fall for me and my charming personality and forgive me quickly?”

“How did he end up a single father?” Scott asks, curious, although Stiles is pretty sure he’s probing on purpose to make Stiles feel more guilty.

It’s working. Through a wince Stiles replies, “Uh, his wife cheated on him and left him and his daughter high and dry.”

Scott gives him a look that’s enough to make any man crumble. 

“Fine,” Stiles says, slumping in his seat. “I get it. You’re right. I’m a horrible person.”

“I didn’t say that, but in this instance you’re pretty close.” Scott pats him on the shoulder. “You should fess up before you meet, dude.”

Stiles nods and slides his phone out of his pocket, looking forlornly at the text message conversation with Derek. Scott stands next to him with his arms folded, waiting.

“Okay! Geez!” Stiles shouts finally typing out a message to Derek

 _Hey, Derek! I… I need to tell you something before we meet._  

Derek types back quickly.

 **Yes?**  

Stiles sighs, looks at Scott, who gives him a slight nod. He has to type everything out in one message or else he’ll lose his nerve. So he just starts typing.

 _I haven’t been fully honest with you. You see… Grace, well, she’s not actually my daughter._ _I’m more like her uncle... sort of. She’s my best friend’s daughter, and I do watch her a ton because my friend and his wife are pretty busy, but yeah. I don’t actually have any kids of my own. I’m… I’m very sorry. I understand if you don’t want to meet with me after learning this. I think you and Talia are wonderful and I was looking forward to meeting you both and getting to know you better. But, I needed to tell you the truth._  

He hits send and waits. 

And waits.

And waits.

Scott has already grabbed them both a beer from the fridge, opening and setting down Stiles’s in front of him while Stiles buries his head in his arms on the counter.

“He was perfect, Scott,” Stiles moans into the granite. Scott pats him on the shoulder. Stiles unlocks his phone and sighs again. “There’s not even dots. He probably blocked my number as soon as he read the message.”

“I think Allison has a half gallon of chocolate mint ice cream in the freezer. Want me to get it?” Scott asks, ever the loyal and supportive friend.

Stiles nods his head and then lays it back down on the counter.

~

It’s when Stiles has nearly eaten his way through the rest of Allison’s ice cream and nearing the end of a ridiculous action movie with Scott in the living room (volume turned down low so as to ensure Grace doesn’t wake up), his phone long forgotten on the counter as a lost cause, when it actually chimes with a new text. 

He immediately sits up and stares at Scott. “Was that…” he starts, waiting to see if it really was his phone or the movie or his imagination.

Sure enough his phone chimes again, and Stiles sprints to his phone to see that he does have a text and it’s actually from Derek! 

**I’ll admit, Stiles, that I am rather hurt and disappointed. I appreciate that you told me the truth, though.**

**Against my better judgement, I’d still like to meet you in person. Although, perhaps it would be best to meet one on one without children (biological or otherwise).**

**I’m afraid I’ve grown accustomed to receiving your texts and appreciating your humor. If anything, I think we could be friends.**

“What’d he say?” Scott asks. 

Stiles looks up from his phone, tears in his eyes. “Scott, he’s an angel. An actual angelic being, a Greek god, I knew, but now… now he’s a halo-ed winged angel.”

Scott lifts his eyebrow. “He still wants to meet?” Scott guesses. 

“YES!”

“Shhh!!!” Scott shushes, and Stiles clamps his hand over his mouth. His phone chimes once more.

**If you’d still like to meet, perhaps we can meet at Taylor’s on Friday evening. I would be able to get a babysitter for Talia then.**

Stiles grins at his phone and types out a message.

 _Yes. Please. Friday is perfect. Say 8pm?_  

**8pm works. Talia would be asleep by then. I’ll see you there.**

He looks up to find Scott looking at him with a smug grin.

“Aren’t you glad I made you tell him the truth?” Stiles rolls his eyes. “He must be a really nice guy,” Scott adds quietly.

“He really is, Scott. He’s… he’s amazing. And… if all we become is friends, that’s okay.” 

“Is it though, Stiles? You were ready to marry him two hours ago.”

Stiles pauses to think about it. “I’d rather have him in my life as a friend than not in my life at all,” he says seriously, realizing after he says it that he’s sincere.

“Damn, dude,” Scott says. “You really have it bad for this guy.”

Stiles nods slightly, giving Scott a hopeless look. Scott just shakes his head with a sigh and pulls his friend back to the couch to finish their movie.

~ 

Friday takes _forever_ to come. Derek hasn’t texted him since he agreed to meet Stiles, and Stiles has started and then deleted hundreds of texts to him in the days leading up to their meeting. All of them sounded forced or awkward, so he never sent them. Now he’s wondering if he should’ve sent something because when they finally meet it’ll be even more awkward after not having communicated in nearly a week.

It’s almost time and he’s put on and taken off 5 different shirts, 2 different pairs of jeans, and 3 different pairs of slacks. He’s standing in just his boxer briefs staring at his closet and then at the clock internally freaking out when his phone rings.

“Hello?” Stiles says as he picks up, his voice not hiding how stressed he is. 

“ _Breathe, dude,_ ” Scott says on the other side of the line, and it helps. “ _Allison says to wear your nicest tight pair of jeans… and the dark blue button down with the sleeves rolled up slightly._ ” 

“Tell her I love her.”

Scott chuckles. “ _She says she knows._ ” Stiles grins at the reference. _“Good luck, dude. That’s from both of us._ ” 

“Thanks.”

“ _Get dressed already! You’re going to be late!_ ” Scott shouts before hanging up. 

Stiles follows Allison’s directions and rushes out the door to get to the bar to meet Derek.

~

When he arrives (he’s not late, he double checked), Derek is already standing at the bar waiting to order a drink.

And he looks absolutely gorgeous. His pictures on his profile don’t do him justice. He’s wearing nice jeans that his ass looks amazing in and a soft green henley that hugs his biceps. Stiles may be drooling… along with half the bar because Derek’s definitely getting some eyes across the room.

Before Stiles can do anything (like run away), Derek sees him and smiles, waving slightly to him. Helpless, Stiles waves and grins back, walking to join Derek at the bar. 

“Hey, Derek.” Stiles sticks out his hand, and Derek shakes it.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Stiles.” God his voice is softer than Stiles imagined. “I think I saw a few empty booths in the back, if you want to grab one and I’ll get us a drink?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Stiles says, nodding his head and then stopping because he’s definitely nodding his head way too much. 

He tries to take a few calming breaths as he makes his way through the crowd and standing tables to the few booths Derek had seen. He takes one that’s fairly well hidden from the majority of the people and shoots a text to Scott that he’s there and finally met Derek.

By the time Stiles sees that Scott has sent him a thumbs up emoji back, Derek is setting two glasses of beer on the table.

“Thanks,” Stiles remarks, watching Derek slide into the booth. “And… thanks for meeting me, or wanting to meet me still I guess.”

Derek nods, but he’s frowning and Stiles is so worried what that would mean. Finally Derek speaks, “Can I just ask one question?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Why did you lie about it? About having a kid, and signing up for the app.”

Stiles sighs, knowing that they were going to have to talk about this, and he’s glad they’re doing it first. 

“I… I don’t know. I mean, no, that’s not... I have tried so many dating apps, and they were all filled with people wanting something casual. And I’m… not. I’m not good at casual flings, and I want to find the one, you know?” He wants to look up at Derek, but he’s afraid of the look he’ll find there, so he presses on. 

“An ad for the single parent dating app popped up, and I thought maybe I’d try it, that the people on that app might be wanting something serious especially since they already had a kid. I mean it’s tough to date with a kid and you want someone who’s going to be okay with that before you bring them home. And I thought… I thought maybe I’d find someone who’d be okay with me being that person.

“I thought I didn’t necessarily have to have a child to be on the app, but then it turns out you did and I was so… curious at that point that I decided to pretend Grace was mine. And then I met you.” Stiles chances a glance at Derek, and his face is rather neutral, which he can’t tell is good or bad.

“You were… amazing, and then I realized it was too late to say anything and I was kind of afraid to say anything because we were hitting it off so well. My best friend, Grace’s dad, he made me realize I was being stupid, which is why I texted you the truth.” 

He stares at Derek, his eyes earnest and sincere. “I’m so sorry, Derek. Truly. I didn’t mean for any of this or to lie to you.” He looks down at his beer. “I understand if you don’t want to see me or talk to me again.”

Derek clears his throat slightly to get Stiles’s attention. “I… I appreciate you explaining. And for telling me and apologizing.” He pauses. “I think I understand why you did it. I’ve been on those other dating apps, too, and I agree, most people on there are not okay with dating someone with a child.” 

“I bet.” 

“The thing is…” Derek starts and takes a breath. “I really enjoyed texting with you and getting to know you. I… I was really starting to like you.” Stiles winces at the past-tense. Geez he ruined something that could’ve been so wonderful because he’s an idiot. 

Derek continues though, “I don’t appreciate being lied to, especially about something so big. That can’t happen again. I can’t be with someone who isn’t honest with me or doesn’t feel like they can be honest with me.” 

Stiles braces himself, knowing what’s coming and making sure he can slide out of the booth quickly and leave before he starts crying.

“With that said,” Derek pauses, “can we start over?”

Stiles looks up, eyes wide at Derek. “What?”

Derek sticks out his hand across the table. “Hi. I’m Derek Hale. I’m thirty-six years old, and the single parent to a very precocious four year old daughter named Talia whom I love and adore.”

Stiles stares at Derek’s outstretched hand and then up at Derek, who is smiling slightly and looking… nervous? He can’t quite believe what’s happening, that Derek is being so forgiving and willing to do this. He really is an angel.

Quickly, before Derek can get more hesitant and nervous, Stiles takes his hand with a grin. “Hi. I’m Stiles Stilinski. I’m thirty years old and single with no kids, but I do have a three year old niece named Grace who is the cutest little girl and that I’m grateful to have in my life.”

They shake hands, and Derek’s smile stays on his face. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Stiles’s eyes shine bright. “Likewise.”

~

They take things slow, which Stiles is more than okay with. Although it does mean it takes several weeks of dating for Derek to finally let him meet Talia. When they do meet though, Stiles thinks Derek has real competition for his heart because Stiles is in love with her. (And yes, that was basically his declaration of love to Derek, which leads to them making out after Derek finally puts Talia to bed that night.)

It doesn’t take long for Stiles to be wrapped around Talia’s little finger, much like Derek is, but he’s happy with them both.

When Grace and Talia do have their playdate, Derek and Stiles worry about what their future holds with them two being friends when they’re older. Let’s just say it was an interesting two hours before Scott and Allison came by to pick up Grace.

Eventually Derek asks Stiles to move in, and Stiles finally gets to come home to Derek and snuggle with him on the couch while he complains about his idiot coworkers.

And it’s not always perfect and sometimes they fight and sometimes Talia is too much for the both of them, but they’re in it together and it’s their life. Stiles (and even Derek admits it one night) is so glad he signed up for that app because he found Derek (and Talia), and he’s happy.

Lucky and so inordinately happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [my tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com) or [my twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).


End file.
